Death Comes To Disney
by DianaKeep
Summary: Sheriff Mulan Fa has is no stranger to death. She thought she left that behind when she returned home from war, but a darkness has invaded her town. To protect her friends, she must solve a mysterious and brutal crime and answer the question on everyone's minds: "What monster would kill Snow White?"
1. Chapter 1

In wartime, Mulan had seen her fair share of dead bodies. Created dead bodies too, by arrow and by sword. It didn't make war any easier, which she was thankful for. Her father told her once, after she came home, that the moment you stop feeling anything when you kill is when you stop being human.

Whoever did this couldn't possibly be human. Mulan killed out of necessity, out of loyalty to her country. This monster killed for the mere pleasure of it. When she entered the room for the first time, Mulan choked back her tears. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the body of a elderly woman. It was the first time she'd seen a human being slaughtered as if the killer was a hunter and the poor old woman a deer.

Mrs. Prince had been everyone's grandmother in the small, close knit community. She baked apple cobblers that went for big bucks at the annual town goods auction to raise funds for the children's home. She had the endearing habit of showing up at her neighbor's houses and cleaning when the residents went on vacation. It was the kind of place where people didn't lock their doors.

Her husband was a local lawyer, prominent before succumbing to heart disease five years ago. He publicly spoiled his wife with jewelry and other nice things, saying that he was giving her a piece of happily ever after. Mulan was thankful that Ferdinand hadn't lived long enough to see his beloved wife in such a state.

Outside the bedroom, Mulan could hear stifled crying. Mrs. Prince had been principal of the elementary school for as long as anyone could remember. Phillip Kingsley, one of her deputies, was one of Prince's students. Mulan let him have his tears. She knew tears didn't make a man or woman weak.

"Merida, call Doc and let him know we need an autopsy pronto. Tell Meg to hold this story for as long as possible; I don't details getting out before we've processed evidence."

Her red-headed officer nodded somberly, stepping out to make the calls. Mulan knelt down next to the body. Those wide blue eyes were still open and staring at the ceiling. Mulan whispered "Don't worry, Snow. We're going to catch this son of a bitch." Her eyes caught her reflection in the giant mirror hanging from the wall. The sick bastard had written on the antique mirror in Snow's own blood: "Who's the fairest in the land?"

Within her skin, Mulan could feel her blood burn and boil. _"I promise. I will catch him."_

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Mulan gave her head a tiny shake. "You know I can't talk about an ongoing case, Kida. Not even to a friend."

Kida pushed a plate of food in front of her despondent friend. "I don't want to know about the case. I want to know how you're doing."

Though her stomach rumbled in a way to suggest otherwise, Mulan couldn't eat. Food made her think of Snow White Prince's apple cobbler.

"I just...I can't believe she's gone. I remember coming home, everyone treating me like I was a war hero, like I was different than I was before. I just wanted to get back to normal life, I didn't want parades. Mrs. Prince didn't treat me like a celebrity. I saw her at the grocery store a few weeks after I got my medal, and she said "Ms. Fa, did you bring that boy back with you because you wanted to, or because you knew that's what your daddy wanted?" Kida laughed lyrically while Mulan smiled for the first time all day.

"She was right, of course. She was the only one who wasn't surprised when Shang left. And she's gone. No more sweet but stern old lady wisdom with apple cobbler."

Kida thought of her own memories of the lady. "She would sing, every morning. I asked her once why she sang, and she said singing led her to her true love, and she never stopped singing after that. I remember I thought that if I could one day be half as happy as she was, I'd still be happier than most people in the world."

Mulan rubbed her eyes. "I only really came back to grab a change of clothes. I've been in the office all night. I sent Merida and Phil home hours ago to get sleep, but I can't stop knowing that the killer is out there."

Kida nodded. She'd learned long ago not to argue with her roommate's workaholic nature. "Well, I should let you know that it's already all over town. Mrs. Prince was supposed to be at the museum this morning to help with the history of Disney Town exhibit. Milo was calling around all morning trying to get in touch with her; finally got a hold of Tiana."

Mulan cursed. "Phillip goes to Tia's every morning to pick up those powdered donut things for the office. He must have said something. And if Tia knows, Lottie knows. Which means..."

Kida finished her sentence. "Meg won't have to write a story. Everyone knows."

* * *

"Sheriff Fa, the Anaheim Daily just called. They want to cover the story. I told them they'd have to wait for you to get into the office."

Mulan nodded grimly. "Thanks for stalling, Nani." She paused before her secretary's desk. "Listen, I know Mrs. Prince meant a lot to your sister. If you need to take a day off to be with her, I'd understand."

With a grateful smile, Nani declined. "I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it, in person, but I called the school to check up on her. She knew something was up because the vice principle was going classroom to classroom talking to teachers. I told Lilo that something bad happened to Mrs. Prince and she demanded that I stay here and help with the investigation."

Mulan chuckled. "That kid. Okay, but if you change your mind, I'm sure we could find a temp. The office would fall apart, but we'd try and survive."

When Nani came to town a few years back, Mulan had taken her under her wing. She gave Nani a secretary job at the station knowing that Nani didn't know the first thing about office work, but correctly assuming that the girl was a hard worker and a quick learner. Little Lilo occasionally said that Mulan was a part of their "Ohana" which was sweet of the strange girl. Mulan never had siblings (unless you count her dog Little Brother) and she looked at the two Hawaiian girls as her own sisters.

After settling into her office, Mulan grimaced as she prepared to make the call she'd been dreading. "Yes, hi, this is Sheriff Fa. Could you put Meg on the phone? Thanks, Lottie."

"About time you called, Fa, I was about to send reporters to the station to bug you."

Mulan frowned. "Meg, we found her around ten last night. It's barely 8:30am now. It's a weekly paper you're running, not a daily."

The snarky reporter would not be dissuaded. "News is news. And this, this is big news. Was Mrs. Prince really killed? Do you think it's a serial killer? Is-"

"I'll send Merida over in a bit with the information you can publish. We'll be keeping some information private for the time being to help the investigation. And listen, tell that Lottie of yours to quit gossiping about this. She's going to have this whole town panicking."

Meg was uncharacteristically silent for a moment. "Snow is dead. Shouldn't we be panicking?"

* * *

Tiana's powdered donuts sat on the conference room table, untouched. No one in the station seemed hungry. The body lying in the makeshift morgue of the local hospital drained the officers of life, Phillip Kingsley thought.

He and his wife had lived in this town their entire marriage; nearly twenty years. His Aurora drove twenty minutes every morning and evening to the city, where she was a professor. She taught classes on fairy tales and folklore. To this day, Phillip didn't know how he'd attracted such a smart, wonderful lady. She, the intellectual, he, a simple cop. Though he'd been at the station the longest, he was never promoted higher than deputy. This worked out nicely for him. It wasn't that he lacked ambition, it was more that this is where he was comfortable. He was content with his life, job, family. Their son was a freshman at an out of state college, but he visited frequently. Aurora's aunts had left her a small house when they died, where James Kingsley stayed while at school.

Everyone in this town felt like family to him. He had his routines, the people he saw every day. He didn't like change. But now, his family, his routine, was broken. He'd never help Mrs. Prince around her house as he'd done every Saturday without fail since her husband's death.

He could hear Mulan talking to Nani in the hallway, but he wasn't listening. He kept seeing the apples strewn on the floor of Mrs. Prince's kitchen. The killer had broken in, catching her in the kitchen. She ran into the bedroom, trying to close the door, but she didn't stand a chance.

Mulan cleared her throat, finally getting Phillip's attention. "I know everyone is shaken up. This is a hard case, hard on the entire town. Which is why I've decided to request the help of the FBI. I believe-"

"No." Phillip stood up, shaking. "No way in hell. Mrs. Prince was one of us. We all loved her. We're going to catch this monster, together. We don't need any outside help."

"Phil, I understand how you feel, but we can't handle this on our own. This isn't traffic tickets, this is murder. Out of all of us, I'm the only who'd seen a dead body before. We are out of our depth."

Phillip's fists were clenched. "Please, Mulan. Give us a week. If we don't have a viable suspect in a week, call the FBI. Just give us a chance to solve this."

Mulan glanced around the conference room. Merida's lips with thin, anger clearly reflected on her face. She'd just graduated from university with a degree in criminal justice; this was her first real job in the field. This was her first case. The three of them were more than capable of handling the normal petty small town things. The worst they'd seen was when some of the high schoolers started selling weed. She hesitated. Logically, she knew that they wouldn't be able to solve this on their own. But a week...a week couldn't hurt.

"Fine. We have a week. Phil, work with Nani and go through the files of anyone in town with a history of violence or anyone with a grudge against the Princes. Merida, go to the paper and drop this folder off to Meg. Afterwards, go to the elementary school and talk to Prince's coworkers. Maybe someone saw something out of the ordinary. I'm going to see if Doc and Sweet found anything in the autopsy."

* * *

Sweets was like a giant out of a fairy tale standing next to the small body of Mrs. Prince. A former army doctor, he now worked the Disney Hospital. Doc was normally a pediatrician, but he'd offered to assist Sweets with the autopsy. Sweets thought bitterly that while a nice gesture, Doc wasn't much help; he'd been friends with Mrs. Prince for decades. Doc was unprepared to see his friend as a cadaver.

Doc and his brothers had lived in this town their entire lives. They'd been some of the original wards of the Disney Children's Home. When they were teens, a little girl from an abusive family came to the home. She was fourteen, with skin as pale as snow and hair as dark as a raven's wing. The boys took care of her, and she them.

The boys grew up and got jobs, always sending her money, until a barely eighteen year old met a boy in the woods when she was picking flowers. That boy was a recent law school graduate, coming home to take over his daddy's firm. They married soon after. It didn't bother Ferdinand that his bride was unable to have kids. Instead, they fostered children from the home, providing lost souls with a friendly stop along the way to their forever families.

Sweets excited the makeshift morgue, exhausted. He noticed a catatonic sheriff in a gray plastic chair in the hall of the hospital. She must have fallen asleep waiting for the autopsy results. He wished he had more to give her.

"Uh, Sheriff?"

Her eyes fluttered open. "Oh, I'm sorry! It's been a long night. Or day." She coughed, embarrassed slightly. "Did you find anything of note?"

Sweets shook his head. "Just what we suspected. Blunt force trauma, and you were right earlier. He gutted her." He hesitated, brow furrowing. "He took her heart."

* * *

"Okay, Nani, it seems no one had it in for the Princes. The Miners were close family friends, Snow's abusive mother died years ago, her husband's dead. I don't see any connection, anything that could lead to someone doing this." Phillip slumped in his chair, mussing up his grating hair.

Nani sighed, organizing the files again. "Maybe you guys could gather up all the usual suspects and interrogate them, see if they know anything?"

Phillip shook his head. "We can't hold anyone without a reason, and the typical shady sorts won't talk to us anyways."

"I think you underestimate how much Mrs. Prince meant to this town," Nani said, softly. "Either way, I hope Merida is having better luck than we are."

* * *

"Did Mrs. Prince ever tell you that someone made her uncomfortable, or scared her? A parent, or another teacher maybe?"

Ella Austen's eyes were full of tears, and Merida wasn't getting anywhere with questions. "No, no, she loved everyone! Even mean people! She was a real Christian lady. We'd been best friends for thirty years and I don't think I ever heard a harsh word from her!" At this, Mrs. Austen looked away suddenly.

"What is it, Mrs. Austen? I promise, anything you can think of could help."

"It's just...she didn't ever mean anything by it..." Mrs. Austen bit her lip. "She would lecture people. Snow believed in true love and if she thought two people didn't love each other, she told them. Saved alotta people from bad relationships." She sniffed. "And she thought Father Frollo was creepy. She stopped going to church around two years ago, said it was due to her health, but I knew it's because she didn't like his fire and brimstone talk."

"I think the whole town shares her view on Frollo," Merida said kindly. It wasn't a lie; his pews were emptier than Merida's date calendar. "Did she ever, er, lecture someone who didn't take too kindly to it?"

"I remember she was on the little French girl for months to leave that big brutish fellow, the pushy one? His name escapes me. But he stalked that poor dear for awhile, 'till the good sheriff stopped him. That was before you moved here. Most people got their happy endings through Snow."

Ella Austen smiled weakly. "I know I did. I was a poor kid who got kicked out of my house. Snow found me and she and Ferdinand helped me get into college, though they weren't much older than I was. And at school, I met my charming husband." The tears were falling freely now. "I don't know how the kids here will recover. I can't fill Snow's shoes. No one can."

As Merida was leaving the school grounds, she say a splash of red in the corner of her eye. "Lilo, shouldn't you be in class?"

The ten year old girl ducked out from behind the tree. "How'd you know I was there?"

Merida smiled. "I was once a rascally run-about lass myself."

Lilo fidgeted under the redhead's gaze. "Did Mrs. Prince get eaten by vampires?"

Merida knelt down next to the sad child. "Lilo, I think this is something you should talk to Nani about. What happened was bad and I don't know how much Nani wants you to know."

Lilo's eyes were wet. "When we first moved here, the school wouldn't let my dog Stitch come with me to class. Mrs. Prince told me that every time I got an A on an assignment, I could have Stitch come to recess. She said it was good to have old friends when you're somewhere new. But she told me that the kids here are nice and I could make friends here too." Lilo wiped her eyes with her pudgy hands. "Just say it wasn't vampires, okay? If it was vampires, I want to know."

Merida hugged Lilo close. "It wasn't vampires."

* * *

Hello, everyone! This is my first Disney fanfiction and I hope you enjoy. I know that in most disney fanfics, the characters are high school/college aged. In mine, most everyone are adults. I can put up everyone's ages if there is interest. Please review, especially if you think you know who the killer is!

DianaKeep


	2. Chapter 2

That morning there was an unearthly quiet in the town. Though no organization took place, nearly every person in town arrived at work, at school, decked fully in black. The adults read Meg's article in the paper (giving the barest minimum of information), and the children of town muddled through a day of grief stricken teachers attempting to go on as usual. That's what Snow would have wanted, Ella had told the staff when the question of remaining opened was raised.

After school let out, Ella drove to the small coffee shop on Main, Tea Time. Sitting at their usual table was her now oldest living friend, Aurora Kingsley.

"I can't believe she's gone," Aurora said weakly. She spooned more sugar into her already very sweet cup of tea. Her lavender eyes were puffy and tear stained.

Ella griped her cup so tightly she half expected to break it. "I miss her so much, Rosie. I wish I could ask her what to do, how to do all of this. I don't know how she did it. All day, the kids were crying. The littlest asking when she'd be back. She'd promise to dogsit for the Darlings, speak on behalf of the Pan boy at his juvenile court hearing, organize the Children's home annual fundraising gala, and she was filling in as the home economics until our budget increased enough next year to afford new staff. At her age, Rosie! I can't...I can't do this without her, I can't, I'm not enough-"

Aurora whipped her head up quickly, pinning Ella with a stern look. "Ella Austen, that doesn't sound like you at all. That sounds like that wretched stepmother of yours. She's been dead for years, don't let her get in your head. Snow would always say that the best revenge is living well, right? That's also the best way to honor Snow's memory. You don't have to do it all. Phillip can speak on Peter's behalf, he has certainly enough experience with the boy. Ask Nani if she can dogsit; she has a dog already so she'll be fine. And we can ask Tiana to help us set up the fundraiser. That girl has a fine head for numbers and organization."

Ella breathed a sigh of relief. "Those are wonderful ideas! I can't believe I didn't think of any of that." Her eyes grew wait and she glanced down at her coffee cup again. "I feel as if the hold world has gone off balance, and we're all just...wishing for Snow to come back."

Aurora nodded grimly. "We can't fall apart, Ella. It's our duty, our responsibility, to solider on. We can't just fall asleep and wake up when this is all over. There's a madman that must be caught, and those of us who can't directly help in the search must help in anyway we can. For us, it's keeping people calm; you, the children, and me, the station. I'm taking a few weeks off work so I can help Phillip during the course of the investigation. I know it won't be much more than support, but I know where I'm needed."

Ella smiled. "Does Phillip know how lucky a guy he is?"

"Why, of course he does," Aurora smiled slightly. "I remind him daily."

"Please have dinner with me and my Charming after this; I know Phillip won't be out of the office until late with all of this going on. My husband's in meetings for the next few hours, but I'd love your help with that recipe you gave me a few weeks back."

"A cooking party?" Aurora chuckled. "It'll be just like old times with Snow teaching us everything she knew about baking! That's exactly the thing we need right now!"

Phillip had never once fired his gun in all his years in law enforcement. Never once.

For the second time in a week, he wanted to take every gun in town and fire every bullet into the body of the boogeyman stalking the women of Anaheim.

Killing the women he loved. The woman he loved.

The wouldn't let him see the body. Fa got the call from Ella's husband, delirious with panic, screaming into the phone about "his princess." Phillip remembered suddenly that his wife was spending the evening with Mrs. Austen, the texts she'd sent him just hours earlier. He didn't tell Fa. He knew she'd order him to wait at the station. He drove fast, breaking every speed limit, but still Merida made it there before him. She was more reckless on her best day than he was on his worst.

She had barred the door, not not meeting his eyes. And he knew instantaneously. He knew even as Fa pushed passed him, as Mr. Austen sat on the steps of the porch crying and rocking back and forth. He knew he should do something, but...he couldn't. He was numb.

Phillip slumped to the ground. The lights of the squad cars were blurred by his tears. His Aurora. Gone. His love, his happy ending, his ever after, mother of his child, life partner, soul mate, just gone. Forever. Oh, God, how could he tell his son? That his mother was dead, that his father couldn't stop it, that his father couldn't catch-

No. He was going to catch the bastard. He would kill him with his bare hands, inflict every possible torment on the monster. For Snow, for Ella, for his dear Aurora.

"Give. Me. Your. Gun."

With a start, Phillip realized that he was standing with his weapon drawn. "Fa, I, I didn't, I-"

Calmer now, Mulan repeated. "Hand me the gun, Phillip." Wordlessly, Phillip complied. "I'm so sorry, Phillip. I'm so so sorry. Aurora is..."

Phillip nodded. "I knew. I think I knew the moment Austen called. I can't...I can't live without her, I can't, she was my everything." His face seemed to break like a piece of fine china. "How'll I tell my boy?"

"When you're up for it, we'll call him. I want you to take some time off, spend it with him, okay?"

The suggestion replaced all the despair inside Phillip with rage. "I'm not running, I'm not going anywhere until I kill this bastard. He took my wife, Mulan, my Aurora. We have to stop him, put him in the ground, put a bullet in his head!"

"PHILLIP. We are NOT discussing this right now. You're too close to this now, we can't handle this on our own. I'm calling the FBI and you're going to spend time with your son and stay out of harms way. That's what Aurora would've wanted."

"Don't you DARE tell me what YOU think she would've wanted! Don't you DARE," he roared. "Leave right now, Fa. I'm staying with my wife. I'm going to the morgue, and I'll stay until Sweets tells me I can't anymore. And you can't do a thing to stop me."

"You handled that real well, Boss," Merida muttered as Mulan walked back to her squad car. Mulan resisted the urge to reprimand her. Overwhelmed, she'd just say something she didn't mean and there were far more productive things to do.

She picked up her phone and called the number she promised herself never again to call. "Smith? Hey, it's Mulan. I'm calling about- No, I don't want to know how Shang is doing. I'm calling because you're the only person I know in the FBI and I need help. Anaheim needs help. I think we have a serial killer, escalating quickly. Three murders within a few days, two today. No signs of sexual assault, differing methods of killing each time, but it's the same guy. He leaves notes." Taking in a deep breathe, Mulan continued. "He says there will be more."

John Smith felt oddly nervous watching his boss read over the case file. Smith normally oozed confidence, but he was off his game today. He knew part of it had to do with Shang; his partner wasn't even looking at him, much less talking to him. He was furious when he found out his partner and his ex were still on speaking terms.

It wasn't at all what Shang thought, or what John Smith thought he thought. He wasn't interested in Mulan that way, they were friends. More than that, he kept her updated on her ex and she kept him updated on his. Mutually beneficial to two people who just couldn't move on.

The cracking of knuckles snapped him out of his haze. "It's seems as if your Sheriff Fa is on the right track. This is definitely a serial killer. A highly organized and unpredictable killer who will continue to escalate until we bring him in." The physically imposing Mr. Bubbles nodded at Smith. "You and your partner will be heading to Anaheim first thing."

Shane's face clouded as John stumbled over his words. "I was just passing the case along to you for a friend", he said, emphasizing the word "friend". "I think more senior agents would be better suited to this."

Bubbles grumbled, lowered his sunglasses. "In the year you've been here, I've never once seen you back down from any sort of challenge. What's different about this?"

Smith glanced pointedly at Shang but his partner remained mute. "It's just, we've both spent time there and it might not be a...pleasant welcome, exactly. Sir."

"You've worked with this sheriff, you know the area and the population, I'd say there's no one better. This is an order, Smith. Shang. I expect check-ins, and let us know if you need any back up once you're there." Bubbles drummed his fingers on his desk. "Don't let this sicko kill anyone else."

"Shang, wait up!" Smith called after his partner. Shang had left the room just about as fast as he could. "Shang, I know Anaheim is the last place you want to be, trust me. I feel the same. But we need to put those feelings aside and do our job. We're professionals. We have to act like it, okay?"

Shang glowered. "You have no idea how I feel, John. Poca left you for someone else. Yeah, it hurt, but she had reasons. She fell in love with someone else. There was a logic, a sense to it. With Mulan...it just...fell apart, for no reason. I can't move on, I can't even think about her without becoming furious. She's still in my head, and I'm not in hers. She's moved on."

"Shang, you can't know that. She hasn't moved on, she still calls once a month to ask after you."

Shang looked away. "Lottie called a few weeks ago to ask if I was going to the Children's home fundraiser, she was helping Snow with the guest list, and they remembered how much the kids liked my martial arts demonstration and hoped to get me back for this year. When I declined, she let it slip that Mulan had been seeing other people. She didn't specify names." His fists clenched. "I'll be professional. But it's not going to be easy."

"The victim had enough tranquilizer in her to knock out a rhino. While she was comatose, the perp beat her. Every part of her body other than her face is bruised and bloody. She died of blunt force trauma. She died first.

The second victim was tied to a chair and tortured for at least an hour. The perp sliced up the bottom of her feet with glass before stabbing her in the heart with a glass shard.

Neither victim shows signs of sexual assault." Sweets sighed, rubbing his head. "I don't understand. Who would want to kill Snow, Ella, and Aurora? I mean, they were like the matriarchs of town. Everyone's mother, everyone's grandmother. They were the lifeblood of this town."

Mulan's face had remained stoic during Sweet's entire report, but now, her faced scrunched up in horror. "Oh my god. How did I not see it before? That's what they have in common!" She dashed out of the morgue before Sweets could say more than "Mulan! Wait!"

Plucking Merida from the coffee shop next door (where she'd been making a latte run), Mulan rushed to the squad car.

"Hold yer horses, Boss! I'll spill the lattes! What's the hurry?"

Already at the wheel of the car, Mulan said breathlessly, "The Miss Anaheim contest. All of the victims were former winners."

Merida cursed, before her eyes widen with fear. "But boss, that means-"

Mulan nodded grimly. "It means we're on this fucker's hit list."


End file.
